Starting this fall, the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts will offer students a course in LGBT studies, one of the first of its kind at the high school level, reported San Francisco Examiner.
The course will cover various LGBT-related topics such as the history, studies and literature of the community and will also give students the opportunity to learn about the history and contributions of the LGBT community in San Francisco, according to Matt Haney, vice president of the San Francisco Unified School District board of education.
"LGBT studies will explore the American experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and agender individuals in the United States and across the world," said Lyndsey Schlax, a teacher at the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts (SOTA), in a video posted on the school's Facebook page.
Schlax will be working together with human rights activist Cleve Jones to put the curriculum together. Jones was a pupil of the late San Francisco supervisor and gay right activist Harvey Milk.
Twenty-eight percent of the students at the school identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, which is higher than any other public school in the city, according to district officials, reported CBS Local.
The school's Facebook post follows:
HISTORY IN THE MAKING: LGBT STUDIES CLASS • FALL 2015The School of the Arts academic curriculum will be enhanced with an LGBT studies class next fall, taught by academic faculty member, Lyndsey Schlax, making SOTA the first public high school in San Francisco to teach this relevant and vital part of the City’s history. Schlax, who studied history at UC Berkeley and San Diego State, and has a Masters in Teaching from the University of San Francisco, claims that she has always been drawn to the stories of grass roots revolutions and social movements. (Her Masters field project focused on integrating arts into subject matter classes, making her subsequent student teaching placement at SOTA a perfectly synchronous event.) Ms. Schlax has been teaching History at the School of the Arts for the past 7 years and was also the Activities Director for Asawa SOTA Student Government for 6 years. As part of the coursework, which encompassed Government, Politics, Leadership and Economics, special guests were invited to share their knowledge and experiences with the students: a federal court judge, active members of political parties, and members of city government. During one of these site visits, Commissioner Matt Haney visited the classroom to talk about government and planted the seed of the idea for an LGBTQ history course. According to Ms. Schlax, the rest is truly history: "I just couldn't let the idea go. SOTA’s student body identifies so strongly as LGBT allies, and so many of our students are part of the LGBTQ community (28%!), they needed to be a part of bringing this class to high schools.” Props to Commissioner Haney, who championed this new addition to the curriculum and spearheaded the effort with the San Francisco Board of Education.“I’m excited to teach the class because, in San Francisco, at SOTA, students should be learning these stories; they're 'their' stories. With LGBT studies, our students will be learning about advocacy, being a good ally, and the history that shaped San Francisco and the LGBTQ community. And they'll be doing it at a watershed moment - so much is changing in America, and the world, for LGBTQ individuals. In the next few weeks the Supreme Court will announce their decision about marriage equality, and I get to teach this history as its happening. It can't get much more exciting than that!!!"
Posted by Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts on Monday, June 8, 2015
